Besides gardening and other various home improvement stuff, I’ve used most of my free time these days making a video game with my friend. It’s been a massive undertaking. I’d heard that game development is fractally difficult–every sub-component just as tricky as its parent–and boy did that ever turn out to be true. We’re both pretty experienced programmers, so we were able to manage the scope creep, at least; no features we don’t absolutely need, no matter how cool they would be. Anyway: I’m happy to say we are finally at the point where we can start introducing people to it! Before I do, I’ll note that this is not really shameless self-promotion; we are looking to buy some fiction, but you need context first, and also the pictures are pretty and I want to talk about something I think is exciting. (The shameless self-promotion will come later when I do one (1) post about the Kickstarter.)
So without further ado, here’s our first piece of promo art.
Starspawn is set in the Cthulhu-mythos universe, drawing primarily from the works of H.P. Lovecraft himself. Rather than paraphrase myself, I’ll just quote from our website:
It’s shaping up to be a beautiful spring at Miskatonic University. Finishing your independent study is your only real concern. One night, you dream of a strange frozen wasteland full of monsters and ancient ruins. You wake up shaken, but not worried—until you realize that your classmates, too, seem a little less human than they did yesterday. To top it off, somebody’s ransacked the geology lab, ruining the project you need to ace to keep your scholarship, and stealing something irreplaceable–a deep core sample of very ancient Antarctic soil.
Were the things you saw in the dream real? Was the quest you received more than the hallucination of a stressed sophomore? And what are you supposed to do with the knowledge that your best friend is some sort of fish-monster?
Explore worlds magical and mundane while evading monsters, solving puzzles, and maybe finding love. Starspawn: A Miskatonic Mystery offers a game mode for everyone, with top-down exploration, arcade minigames, 90s-style point-and-click puzzles, dating sim elements, and visual novel storytelling!
This is a story-driven game with lots of point-and-click first-person puzzles, as well as areas to explore in a top-down 16-bit mode. There are also dating sim elements, where you have to manage your free time to develop your relationships (platonic or otherwise) with various characters, each of whom has a side narrative that changes based on the choices you make. We’re aiming for about ten hours of play time. I’m super excited to share more as we work our way towards the demo. It’s been incredibly challenging and rewarding and I have so many thoughts about the development process. And the artists we’re working with are amazing, too. We’re lucky to have assembled a great team.
Later this year, we’ll be doing a Kickstarter to make sure we can afford all the art we need to finish strong, but for now, I’m trying out something a little fun: we would like to do a short story anthology set in the game universe as a Kickstarter reward! Part of the backstory is a cool (imo) Cold War thing, and we thought it would be fun to let people play in that sandbox if they wanted to. I know we have some writers here, and people who know writers, so I figured I would share it with you all. Here are the submission details. They do contain some (marked) spoilers for the setting, obviously, so beware, if you care. We can only afford hobbyist-tier rates, unfortunately, but it is what it is.
Bonus Samwise and Momo, doing their best impression of a synthpop (or folk) duo liner notes pic:
Aaaand, open thread, naturally!
Bernie Sanders: Joe Biden for President (NYT Guest Essay)
Mr. Bemused Senior
Well this looks 🆒 I’m not much of a writer. I’m forwarding it to my daugters who are the creative crew.
Major Major Major Major
@Mr. Bemused Senior: thanks!!
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
I’ll be looking forward to the finished product, probably the Kickstarter too if I can get my finances in order in time.
burritoboy
Ia, Ia!
Hilarious that this is up right now, as I have been gradually seduced (……by what dark forces…) into writing my first horror story, which is a Cthulhu mythos story set in and around nineteenth-century Dubrovnik, and the great imperial rivalries within the Balkans during that era. I have no idea whether that would be useful to your world, but there it is. (As you’re probably aware, the great power conflicts within the Balkans were in many ways the precursor of much of what we saw throughout the twentieth century, as well as being the immediate cause of WWI.)
This is a bit like Delta Green, no?
SoupCatcher
Similar to Kropenhagen, I’ll be looking forward to the finished game!
There is some overwriting on your webpage at the bottom; some of the text is floating over the top of other text (PC, Windows 10 on Chrome and Edge; it’s only slightly overwriting on Firefox). Not seeing the overwriting on mobile (Android).
Major Major Major Major
@burritoboy: you’re not the first person to mention Delta Green. Without spoiling anything, this is sort of “post-“ that subgenre of mythos stories.
Your story might be adaptable into what we’re looking for, though it’s about eighty years early.
@SoupCatcher: oh thanks, which page? Don’t see anything in chrome on my PC…
Kristine
I’ve never gamed, but I like the premise of this. Vaguely similar to some of the Netflix YA horror series I’ve been enjoying. The Mythos is always a winner.
SoupCatcher
@Major Major Major Major: It’s at the bottom of the landing page.
The bold text is overwriting the plain text.
Major Major Major Major
@SoupCatcher: ok, thanks. Still not seeing it, but I’ve moved it down a bit just to be safe. Fixed?
Sure Lurkalot
Not a current gamer but your game sounds intriguing and I hope it’s a big hit.
schrodingers_cat
Nice to see you back! *Waves*
Caturday WIPart
Rita Berman, Summer with Prismacolor Premier Pencils
SoupCatcher
@Major Major Major Major: Firefox is good. On Chrome, the bold text is no longer overwriting the plain text but is now overwriting the social media links (links still clickable). On Edge, the bold text is overwriting both the plain text and the social media links (links still clickable). Sorry =(
eta: I apologize for being the even-worse-than-spelling-pedant html-pedant.
Major Major Major Major
@SoupCatcher: that’s so weird. Can’t replicate this at all. Do you have any plugins?
sab
I am moving to a new house next month. My elderly pitbull and five cats will be shocked. We have three cat trees that are moving with us. Any suggestions on additional cat trees? We think every cat needs a tree. Also too the basement is huge and the pitbull is afraid of basements.
SoupCatcher
@Major Major Major Major: I have AdBlock on Chrome, but I disabled and still saw the same behavior (also tried hard refresh and shutdown and reboot). No extensions on Edge.
Martin
Eldrich horror dating sim is right up daughter’s alley.
raven
not
a
clue
Richard Simmons died.
Poe Larity
Well with everything else going on, why not raise the ire of Cthulhu.
LanceThrustercourse
Not a story submission per se, but just as athletic are supposed demonstrate the essential life skills of preparation, fortitude, teamwork, exploiting opportunities and building momentum, calculated risks, the importance of the unexpected, the ability to not despair from set backs, and so on, this game seems perfectly suited to teaching skills needed to recognize potential threats and respond effectively along the lines of “Invaders from Mars”, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, “They Live!”, “The Thing”, “The Faculty”, “The Stepford Wives”, “Get Out’, and so on. The reality faced is dealing with the challenges the deceptions pose, or when even the threat being known (at least to some) or out in the open, the numerical disadvantage increases the threat, and the ability to alert others and/or build resistance forces and implement counter strategies is severely hampered by the difficulties in challenging the prevailing narrative.
“Nobody trusts anybody now, and we’re all very tired.” ~ MacReady
Major Major Major Major
@SoupCatcher: so weird.
Kristine
On Safari, which hates everything, the line of social media icons is covering the line of text above the file upload box. I clicked on the Tumblr and Bluesky icons—they worked so I was able to follow you.
zhena gogolia
I’ll buy their album!
Ken
Contact me if you want anything else along these lines.
hueyplong
@raven: Didn’t realize he was just now getting around to it.
Stella
Just a lurker, but this is so cool! I can’t wait to submit something!
strange visitor (from another planet)
i’ll see if i can throw something together.
Hilbertsubspace
@Ken: Azathoth is the blind idiot god at the center of galaxy, where he dance wildly to the tuneless piping of a mad flautist.
Is Azathoth Trump? Is the Republican party the flautist? Or is it the other way round, or a superposition of states?
SiubhanDuinne
TURN ON MSNBC. SOMETHING WRONG WITH TRUMP. BLOOD
Bex
Secret service has Trump down at rally.
SiubhanDuinne
They’re using the word “attacked.”
Am I terrible that my first thought was JFC, please not an attack by a Biden supporter?
Stella
https://x.com/Acyn/status/1812249329203286464?t=soq2y1dW3cxgCEBKiuM6EQ&s=1
Vid of the attack
henqiguai
Apparently attacked. Injured but seemingly not serious. I’m calling false-flag. I’m evil like that.
zhena gogolia
@Stella: It looks as if he’s fine. He throws himself down.
But I wonder if this will help him. God.
ETA: I hate myself for saying that.
SiubhanDuinne
@zhena gogolia:
I think that’s a totally normal reaction.
SiubhanDuinne
@henqiguai:
Never even thought of false flag. I’m naive like that.
Leto
@zhena gogolia: I’m wondering the same thing. As well as how they’re going to spin this. He keeps calling for violence, it finally shows up at his ear, but they’re going to blame Dems.
JoyceH
Secret service needs to triple Biden’s protection because MAGA will be out for blood.
dc
@zhena gogolia: I don’t think it makes a difference. He’s not going to stop spewing hate and lies. People who oppose him for that won’t change. And his fascist minions won’t change either.
zhena gogolia
@Leto: I hate that I’m so dehumanized and terrified of him that the normal human response is entirely inaccessible to me.
Betsy
Shots fired at trump rally?? Ear grazed??? ETA: I wish they had *just* blown his dick off.
Leto
@zhena gogolia: I’m right there with you.
henqiguai
@Betsy (#40):
Looked to be little more than a pellet gun hit. He’s not seriously hurt, based upon the multiple replays of the incident.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: I thought of false flag immediately.
Old School
@Betsy: I would be surprised if a bullet grazed Trump’s ear. It seems more likely the ear was scratched in the ducking and Secret Service scramble.
WaterGirl
Cole has a post up.
Major Major Major Major
@Kristine: can’t replicate that either, but I’ve moved them down even further just in case.
strange visitor (from another planet)
now he doesn’t have to show up at the convention. they can edit his video address to their heart’s content. can we say, “john gill”?
also, i mean, this sucks. biden has three good days, the press grudgingly notice and this?
SoupCatcher
@Major Major Major Major: Your last change fixed the issue for me in Chrome. Firefox still looks good. The social media links are completely distinct in Edge and there’s only a smidge of text overlap.
And mobile still looks great.
Nice work!
TheronWare
Cute 🥰 kitties!